Enhancing artificial reverberation in a noisy environment via noise-dependent compression

ABSTRACT

A system for enhancing artificial reverberation in a noisy listening space includes a sensor configured to generate a signal indicating a current noise level in a listening space, a loudspeaker configured to output sound in the listening space based on an output signal, and at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to execute instructions to: generate an artificial reverberation signal based on a source signal and a response of a listening space, wherein the artificial reverberation signal includes a first low output-level portion having output levels that are below a compression threshold level and a first high output-level portion having output levels that are above the compression threshold level; generate a compressed artificial reverberation signal based on the artificial reverberation signal by increasing the output levels of the low output-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the output levels of the high output-level portion by less than the first magnitude; and combine the compressed artificial reverberation signal with the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.

BACKGROUND Field of the Embodiments

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to audio signalprocessing and, more specifically, to enhancing artificial reverberationin a noisy environment via noise-dependent compression.

Description of the Related Art

Reverberation is the persistence of a sound after the sound is produced.Generally, reverberation is created when a direct audio signal isreflected, causing reflections to build up and then decay as the soundof the direct audio signal is absorbed by the surfaces of objects in thespace and decreases in amplitude until reaching zero amplitude. Suchobjects can include furniture, people, walls, air, and the like.Reverberation is most noticeable when the direct sound output stops, butthe reflections continue.

A room impulse response (RIR) is the acoustical response to an impulseof a room, vehicle passenger compartment, or other listening space andof the surfaces of objects disposed therein. The RIR contains allinformation of the listening space transfer function from a singlesource location to a single microphone location at a specific point intime. The RIR characteristics for the listening space uniquely differfrom those of other rooms or spaces depending on the geometry andinternal makeup of that space. For example, large halls show longerreverberation tails than small rooms, and are generally considered tohave better acoustical characteristics than smaller listening spaces,such as rooms within a dwelling or a vehicle interior.

To improve the acoustics of a listening space, artificial reverberationcan be implemented via a sound reinforcement system, which modifies thesource signal by adding synthetic room information. A source signal canbe an audio file from an arbitrary media source or a microphone signal.When the modified signal is played back, the listener has the impressionthat the source signal is being played back in a room that ischaracterized by the added synthetic room information. As an example, alistener in an acoustically dry listening space, such as a vehicleinterior, can have a listening experience akin to sitting in a concerthall or any other listening space.

One drawback to artificial reverberation is that, if a significantambient noise signal is present, then the low-level parts of the RIR canbe masked. For example, the late reverberation components that are mostresponsible for widening the acoustical space cannot be heard by thelistener, the perceived spatial envelopment effect is decreased ormasked entirely, and the listener has a “drier” listening experience.For example, artificial reverberation in a car can be masked by a smallamount of broadband noise from such common sources as the engine, wind,the air conditioning fan, etc. In another example, such masking noisemay include background noise like the voices of an audience or streetsounds entering the listening space through an open window.

In light of the above, more effective techniques for implementingartificial reverberation in a noisy environment would be useful.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments set forth a system and methods for enhancingartificial reverberation in a noisy environment via noise-dependentcompression. The system includes a sensor configured to generate asignal indicating a current noise level in a listening space, aloudspeaker configured to output sound in the listening space based onan output signal, and at least one processor. The at least one processoris configured to execute instructions to: generate an artificialreverberation signal based on a source signal and a response of alistening space, wherein the artificial reverberation signal includes afirst low output-level portion having output levels that are below acompression threshold level and a first high output-level portion havingoutput levels that are above the compression threshold level; generate acompressed artificial reverberation signal based on the artificialreverberation signal by increasing the output levels of the lowoutput-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the outputlevels of the high output-level portion by less than the firstmagnitude; and combine the compressed artificial reverberation signalwith the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.

At least one advantage of the disclosed embodiments is that a listenerin an acoustically dry listening space can have an acoustical experienceakin to sitting in a different listening space, such as a concert hallor other widened listening space, even in the presence of significantnoise that would normally mask artificial reverberation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the one ormore embodiments can be understood in detail, a more particulardescription of the one or more embodiments, briefly summarized above,may be had by reference to certain specific embodiments, some of whichare illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however,that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope in any manner, forthe scope of the various embodiments subsumes other embodiments as well.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a room impulse response.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a listening space, configuredto implement one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sound reinforcementsystem in the listening space of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a gain transfer plot for an upwards compressionmodule, according to the one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a gain transfer plot for a sound reinforcementsystem, according to the one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a parallel compression module that can beemployed in lieu of upwards compression module, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a gain transfer plot for the parallel compressionmodule of FIG. 6, according to the one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of method steps for signal compression, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure.

For clarity, identical reference numbers have been used, whereapplicable, to designate identical elements that are common betweenfigures. It is contemplated that features of one embodiment may beincorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a room impulse response (RIR)100. RIR 100 depicts the acoustical response to an impulse of a specificlistening space (not shown). Specifically, RIR 100 illustrates soundintensity with respect to time at a certain point in the listeningspace. As such, RIR 100 includes the sound intensity of a direct sound110 of the impulse, multiple early reflections 120 of the impulse, and aplurality of late reverberations 130 of the impulse. Together, earlyreflections 120 and late reverberations 130 make up the totalreverberations of the impulse. Early reflections 120 include discreteechoes that are characterized by the shape of the room and the positionsof the sound source and the listener, and generally occur in the first50 to 80 milliseconds (ms) of the impulse response. By contrast, latereverberations 130 include the remaining portion of the impulse response(the “reverberation tail”), and depend on the physical geometry andcharacteristics of the listening space itself, independent of the sourceand receiver locations.

It is generally accepted that the optimal room acoustic parameters for alistening space differ depending on the type of venue. For example,concert halls benefit from certain characteristics for an optimumtransportation of musical signals, such as reverberation time, lateralenergy, early reflection patterns, and the like. Alternatively, fortheaters and lecture halls, speech intelligibility is the primary goal,and different acoustic characteristics are typically valued in suchvenues. However, in most listening spaces, a listener's perception ofthe spatiality benefits when the listening space has certainspaciousness and envelopment attributes, including late lateral energyand running reverberance among others. Early lateral reflections withdelays from 10 ms to 100 ms can decrease the perceived spaciousness of alistening space due to the separation process. Running reverberancedescribes how loud a rear wall reflection should be to support theperceived envelopment. These, among others, are objective measures forspaciousness and envelopment that enable the room impulse response (RIR)of a listening space to be modified via artificial reverberation. Thatis, the addition of suitable artificial reverberation to a source signalmodifies the RIR 100 of the listening space and therefore cansignificantly improve a listening experience, e.g. in a small, andtherefore dry, listening space.

As shown in FIG. 1, late reverberations 130 are characterized by lowamplitude sound signals, and therefore can be masked by the presence ofnoise in the listening space. For example, given a background noiselevel 101 in the listening space, a masked portion 131 of latereverberations 130 cannot be heard by a listener. As a result, theperceived spatial envelopment effect created by artificial reverberationis decreased or masked entirely, and the listening has a dryer listeningexperience. According to various embodiments, a compressor modulecompresses an artificial reverberation portion of an output signal, sothat the artificial late reverberations 130 that are added to a sourcesignal are increased in output level. As a result, the perceivedspatiality of the listening space remains stable to the listener whennoise is present in the listening space.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a listening space 200,configured to implement one or more aspects of the present disclosure.Listening space 200 is a listening venue configured with one or moreloudspeakers 201 and a sound reinforcement system 220, such as atheatre, a concert hall, a lecture hall, a room within a dwelling, avehicle interior, and the like. Thus, sound reinforcement system 220 canbe integrated into a home entertainment system, a sound system in alarge auditorium, an infotainment system of a vehicle, etc. In someembodiments, listening space 200 is further configured with one or moremicrophones 202.

Sound reinforcement system 220 is configured to generate an outputsignal 203 that causes the one or more loudspeakers 201 to produce anaudio signal 211 that is audible to a listener 204. Output signal 203includes a source signal with specific audio content (for example, musicor sound that is captured by a microphone 202) and an artificialreverberation signal. Thus, when listener 204 hears audio signal 211,early reflections 212 of audio signal 211, and the naturalreverberations (not shown) of listening space 200, listener 204perceives a different spatiality of listening space 200 than the actualspatiality of listening space 200. For example, the artificialreverberation signal included in output signal 203 can cause thespatiality of listening space 200 to substantially synthesize orotherwise reproduce the effect of listening to the audio content ofoutput signal 203 in a large concert hall or other listening venue thathas superior acoustic properties. For example, when listening space 200is a small, dry, listening space, the listening experience of listener204 is enhanced. Alternatively, it is also possible to modify thecharacteristics of a larger listening space, such as a theatre orconcert hall, by introducing artificial reverberation like earlyreflections and late reverberation. In this way, the perceivedspatiality in larger rooms can be stabilized. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, a single loudspeaker 201 and a single microphone202 are shown. In other embodiments, modifying the perceived spatialityof a listening space is more readily achieved via multiple microphones202 and a sufficient number of speakers.

In many instances, an audio noise signal 213 is also present withinlistening space 213. Audio noise signal 213 can be generated by one ormore noise sources that can substantially or completely mask theartificial reverberation signal included in output signal 203. Forexample, when listening space 200 is an interior compartment of avehicle, such as a car, aircraft, watercraft, and the like, noisesources for audio noise signal 213 can include the engine of thevehicle, wind external to the vehicle, an air conditioning fan, wheelinteractions with the road surface, etc. When listening space 200 is aconcert hall or other listening venue, noise sources for audio noisesignal 213 can include the audience, air conditioning equipment servingthe listening venue, and other background noise. According to variousembodiments, when there is a significant audio noise signal 213 presentwithin listening space 200, sound reinforcement system 220 is configuredto modify the artificial reverberation signal included in output signal203. One embodiment of sound reinforcement system 220 is described belowin conjunction with FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating sound reinforcement system220, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, sound reinforcement system 220modifies an artificially reverberated signal 302 with an upwardcompression scheme, so that an audio noise signal 213 present withinlistening space 200 does not mask artificially reverberated signal 302.As such, sound reinforcement system 220 includes an audio source 310, areverberation module 320, an upwards compression module 330, a noisedependent parameter generator 340, and a signal combiner 350.

Audio source 310 is a source for a source signal 301, which can be amusic signal, an audio track associated with a video being viewed inlistening space 200, a voice recording, sound recorded in the listeningspace 200 captured by a microphone 202, and the like. In someembodiments, audio source 310 includes a streaming connection to a musicor audio database. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments,audio source 310 includes a connection to a radio or any other broadcastmedia source. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, audiosource 310 includes music or other audio files stored locally proximatelistening space 200 of FIG. 2. Source signal 301 can be a single signalor multiple signals. In addition, the single signal and/or each of themultiple signals included in source signal 301 can be a mono signal, astereo signal, or a multi-channel signal.

Reverberation module 320 receives source signal 301 and generates anartificially reverberated signal 302 that is based on source signal 301and on the reverberation attributes of an artificial room or a measuredroom. More specifically, reverberation module 320 generates artificialreverberation signal 302 to enhance the listening experience of listener204 in listening space 200 of FIG. 2. Artificially reverberated signal302 can be a single signal or multiple signals. In addition, the singlesignal and/or each of the multiple signals included in artificiallyreverberated signal 302 can be a mono signal, a stereo signal, or amulti-channel signal.

Reverberation module 320 can generate artificial reverberation signal302 based on any technically feasible reverberation algorithm or scheme.In some embodiments, reverberation module 320 generates artificiallyreverberated signal 302 based on previously collected reverberationinformation that is specific to listening space 200. In someembodiments, reverberation module 320 includes one or more sub-modules(not shown) for generating artificially reverberated signal 302, such asa digital filter module, a reverberation filter network, a delay module,and the like. Alternatively or additionally, reverberation module 322can include any other suitable signal processing modules for generatingartificially reverberated signal 302.

In general, reverberation module 320 may be any technically feasibleprocessing unit capable of executing instructions to enable thefunctionality described herein. In some embodiments, reverberationmodule 320 is implemented as a general-purpose processor that can run asuitable software application, such as a central processing unit (CPU).In some embodiments, reverberation module 320 is implemented as adedicated processing unit, such as an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), any other typeof processing unit, or a combination of different processing units.

Upwards compression module 330 is configured to generate a compressedartificial reverberation signal 304 based on artificially reverberatedsignal 302 and, in some embodiments, on one or more noise-dependentparameters 303. More specifically, upwards compression module 330performs an upward compression operation on artificially reverberatedsignal 302. The result of one such upward compression operation isdescribed below in conjunction with FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a gain transfer plot 400 for upwards compressionmodule 330, according to the one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Gain transfer plot 400 depicts changes in the magnitude ofsound output levels of a signal (e.g., artificially reverberated signal302) processed by upwards compression module 330. Thus, gain transferplot 400 is a graph of compressed artificial reverberation signal 304(solid line), with input levels on the horizontal axis and output levelson the vertical axis. For reference, gain transfer plot 400 also depictsthe magnitude of the sound output levels of artificially reverberatedsignal 302 (dashed line) when not compressed, i.e., if upwardscompression module 330 does not process artificially reverberated signal302.

Artificially reverberated signal 302 includes a low output-level portion421 having output levels that are below a compression threshold level401 and a high output-level portion 422 having output levels that areabove compression threshold level 401. As shown, the sound output levelsof artificially reverberated signal 302 are depicted with a straightline, since in FIG. 4 artificially reverberated signal 302 is notcompressed. That is, the various sound output levels of artificiallyreverberated signal 302 remain unchanged.

Similar to artificially reverberated signal 302, compressed artificialreverberation signal 304 includes a low output-level portion 431 havingoutput levels that are below compression threshold level 401 and a highoutput-level portion 432 having output levels that are above compressionthreshold level 401. Unlike artificially reverberated signal 302,compressed artificial reverberation signal 304 is not depicted as asingle straight line, because compressed artificial reverberation signal304 has been compressed, and therefore the sound levels of lowoutput-level portion 431 have been increased above the sound levels oflow output-level portion 421. That is, the output levels of lowoutput-level portion 431 are increased relative to the output levels oflow output-level portion 421. Consequently, when compressed artificialreverberation signal 304 is combined with source signal 301 to formoutput signal 203, as shown in FIG. 3, the playback of output signal 203in listening space 200 generates an audio signal 211 in which most orall of compressed artificial reverberation signal 304 is not masked byaudio noise signal 213. Therefore, artificial reverberation included inaudio signal 211 is audible to listener 204, who then perceives theacoustics of the synthetic room associated with artificiallyreverberated signal 302.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the sound levels of lowoutput-level portion 431 are shown to be greater than the sound levelsof low output-level portion 421 by a ratio of upwards compression module330, which is depicted as a slope 402. In other embodiments, upwardscompression module 330 is configured to increase the sound levels of lowoutput-level portion 431 relative to low output-level portion 421 by anytechnically feasible sound-level quantity. The sound levels of highoutput-level portion 432 of compressed artificial reverberation signal304 are above compression threshold level 401, and therefore are notcompressed. As a result, the sound levels of high output-level portion432 remain constant and, like high output-level portion 422, aredepicted as a straight line.

In general, upwards compression module 330 may be any technicallyfeasible processing unit capable of executing instructions to enable thefunctionality described herein. In some embodiments, upwards compressionmodule 330 is implemented as a general-purpose processor that can run asuitable software application, such as a CPU. In some embodiments,upwards compression module 330 is implemented as a dedicated processingunit, such as an ASIC, an FPGA, any other type of processing unit, or acombination of different processing units.

Returning to FIG. 3, noise dependent parameter generator 340 isconfigured to generate one or more noise-dependent parameters 303 foruse by upwards compression module 330. Noise dependent parametergenerator 340 generates the one or more noise-dependent parameters 303(such as threshold, compression ratio, make-up gain, and the like) basedon a current noise level associated with listening space 200. Forexample, in some embodiments, the current noise level of listening space200 is based on a sound level signal 306 from one or more of microphones202 in listening space 200. Alternatively or additionally, in someembodiments, the current noise level is based on a current speed of avehicle in which listening space 200 is disposed. Alternatively oradditionally, in some embodiments, the current noise level is based on acurrent state of a device that generates noise within listening space200. Thus, instead of a direct measurement of one or more audio noisesignals 213 in listening space 200, sound level signal 306 may includean indicator of a state of each device that generates noise withinlistening space 200, such as a fan speed, an engine rotations-per-minutevalue, a current vehicle speed, and the like.

In some embodiments, noise dependent parameter generator 340 is furtherconfigured to determine a target value for compression threshold level401 in FIG. 4 based on sound level signal 306. Alternatively, in someembodiments, upwards compression module 330 is configured to determinethe target value for compression threshold level 401 based on soundlevel signal 306 or some other noise indicator included innoise-dependent parameters 303. In either case, as the current noiselevel associated with listening space 200 changes, compression thresholdlevel 401 can be increased or decreased accordingly.

In general, dependent parameter generator 340 is further may be anytechnically feasible processing unit capable of executing instructionsto enable the functionality described herein. In some embodiments,dependent parameter generator 340 is further is implemented as ageneral-purpose processor that can run a suitable software application,such as a CPU. In some embodiments, dependent parameter generator 340 isfurther is implemented as a dedicated processing unit, such as an ASIC,an FPGA, any other type of processing unit, or a combination ofdifferent processing units.

Signal combiner 350 combines source signal 301 and compressed artificialreverberation signal 304 to form output signal 203. One embodiment ofoutput signal 203 is described below in conjunction with FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates a gain transfer plot 500 for sound reinforcementsystem 220, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Gain transfer plot 500 depicts changes in the magnitude ofsound output levels of a signal (e.g., source signal 301) processed bysound reinforcement system 220. Thus, gain transfer plot 500 is a graphof output signal 203 (solid line), with input levels on the horizontalaxis and output levels on the vertical axis. For reference, gaintransfer plot 500 also depicts the magnitude of the sound output levelsof source signal 301 (dashed line) when not compressed, i.e., when soundreinforcement system 220 does not process source signal 301.

As shown, the sound output levels of source signal 301 are depicted witha straight line, since in FIG. 5 source signal 301 is not compressed.That is, the various sound output levels of source signal 301 remainconstant.

Output signal 203 includes a low output-level portion 531 having outputlevels that are below compression threshold level 401 and a highoutput-level portion 532 having output levels that are above compressionthreshold level 401. As described above, output signal 203 includes thecombination of source signal 301 and compressed artificial reverberationsignal 304. Because the sound levels of compressed artificialreverberation signal 304 that are below threshold level 401 have beencompressed upward, the sound levels of low output-level portion 531 havebeen increased above the sound levels of low output-level portion 521.That is, the output levels of low output-level portion 531 are increasedrelative to the output levels of low output-level portion 521 of sourcesignal 301.

In FIG. 5, a first noise level 501 and a second noise level 502 are alsoshown. First noise level 501 and second noise level 502 indicate soundoutput levels below which signals are masked. For example, in oneinstance, first noise level 501 can correspond to a currently measurednoise level of audio noise signal 213 (shown in FIG. 2). As describedabove, the upward compression of the output levels of a portion ofoutput signal 203 increases the sound levels of output signal 203,especially in low output-level portion 531. Therefore, in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 5, most or all of the late reverberations includedin output signal 203 are audible to listener 204 when the currentlymeasured noise level of audio noise signal 213 corresponds to firstnoise level 501. Consequently, the playback of output signal 203 inlistening space 200 (see FIG. 2) generates an audio signal 211 in whichmost or all of artificially reverberated signal 302 is not masked byaudio noise signal 213. Therefore, artificial reverberation included inaudio signal 211 is audible to listener 204, who then perceives theacoustics of the synthetic room associated with artificiallyreverberated signal 302.

However, in an instance in which the currently measured noise level ofaudio noise signal 213 corresponds to second noise level 502, asignificant portion of low output-level portion 531 of output signal 203is masked. Specifically, some or all of a late reverberation portion 533of output signal 203 is masked by audio noise signal 213. That is, theportion of output signal 203 that includes late reverberations fromartificially reverberated signal 302 are likely to be inaudible tolistener 204, which is highly undesirable. In such an instance, one ormore noise-dependent parameters 303 are modified to increase compressionof artificially reverberated signal 302 when compressed artificialreverberation signal 304 is generated by upwards compression module 330.For example, compression threshold level 401 can be increased (asindicated by arrow 503) and/or a ratio of upwards compression module 330can be increased, among others. In this way, some or all of the soundlevels of low output-level portion 531 are increased above second noiselevel 502. Conversely, in an instance in which the currently measurednoise level of audio noise signal 213 approaches zero, compressionthreshold level 401 can be significantly reduced (as indicated by arrow504). In such an instance, little or none of the sound levels ofartificially reverberated signal 302 are compressed upwards.

In practice, implementation of a physical device capable of theperformance of upwards compression module 330 can be problematic. Thatis, an upwards compression module that can leave the sound levels ofhigh output-level portion 432 (shown in FIG. 4) unaffected whileincreasing the sound levels of low output-level portion 431 (shown inFIG. 4) as a function of a specified compression ratio can be difficultto realize. Consequently, in some embodiments, sound reinforcementsystem 220 employs a parallel compression scheme to increase the soundlevels of an artificial reverberation signal, such as artificiallyreverberated signal 302. One such embodiment is described below inconjunction with FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a parallel compression module 630 that canbe employed in lieu of upwards compression module 330, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Parallel compression module 630receives artificially reverberated signal 302 and one or morenoise-dependent parameters 303, and generates a parallel-compressedartificial reverberation signal 604 via a downward compressor module631. As shown, parallel compression module 630 splits artificiallyreverberated signal 302 into a treated artificial reverberation signal602A and an untreated artificial reverberation signal 602B. Treatedartificial reverberation signal 602A then undergoes a conventionaldownward compression process by downward compressor module 631 toproduce a downward-compressed artificial reverberation signal 603.

In the conventional downward compression process, the sound levels in ahigh output-level portion of treated artificial reverberation signal602A (such as a portion similar to high output-level portion 432 of FIG.4) are reduced as a function of a compression ratio of downwardcompression module 631, while the sound levels in a low output-levelportion of treated artificial reverberation signal 602A (such as aportion similar to low output-level portion 431 of FIG. 4) are notaffected. Summing of untreated artificial reverberation signal 602B anddownward-compressed artificial reverberation signal 603 then producesparallel-compressed artificial reverberation signal 604. One embodimentof a parallel-compressed artificial reverberation signal 604 isillustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates a gain transfer plot 700 for parallel compressionmodule 630, according to the one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Gain transfer plot 700 depicts changes in the magnitude ofsound output levels of a signal (e.g., artificially reverberated signal302) processed by parallel compression module 630. Thus, gain transferplot 700 is a graph of parallel-compressed artificial reverberationsignal 604 (solid line), with input levels on the horizontal axis andoutput levels on the vertical axis. For reference, gain transfer plot700 also depicts the magnitude of the sound output levels ofartificially reverberated signal 302 (dashed line) when not compressed,i.e., if parallel compression module 630 does not process artificiallyreverberated signal 302. Parallel-compressed artificial reverberationsignal 604 includes the sum of untreated artificial reverberation signal602B (which is equivalent to artificially reverberated signal 302) andtreated artificial reverberation signal 602A. The sound levels in thehigh output-level portion of treated artificial reverberation signal602A are reduced (via normal downward compression), for example as afunction of a compression ratio 702 of downward compression module 631.By contrast, the sound levels in the low output-level portion of treatedartificial reverberation signal 602A remain unchanged. As a result, thesound levels of parallel-compressed artificial reverberation signal 604are as shown and not a straight line vertically offset from artificiallyreverberated signal 302.

The summing of treated artificial reverberation signal 602A anduntreated artificial reverberation signal 602B results in the soundlevels in a low output-level portion 631 that are greater than the soundlevels in a low output-level portion 621 of artificially reverberatedsignal 302. It is noted that this result is similar to the effect ofupwards compression on artificially reverberated signal 302 as describedabove in conjunction with FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of method steps for signal compression, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the methodsteps are described with respect to the systems of FIGS. 1-7, personsskilled in the art will understand that any system configured to performthe method steps, in any order, falls within the scope of the variousembodiments.

As shown, a method 800 begins at step 801, in which sound reinforcementsystem 220 determines a target value for compression threshold level401. For example, in some embodiments, noise dependent parametergenerator 340 makes such a determination based on a current noise levelassociated with listening space 200. As noted above, the current noiselevel can be based on a signal from microphone 202 in listening space200, on a current speed of a vehicle in which listening space 200 isdisposed, on a current state of a device that generates noise withinlistening space 200, etc. Additionally or alternatively, in someembodiments, sound reinforcement system 220 determines a target valuefor one or more compression parameters for compressing an artificialreverberation signal, such as a compression ratio, a make-up gain level,and the like.

In step 802, in response to determining the target value for compressionthreshold 401, sound reinforcement system 220 changes a current valuefor compression threshold level 401 to the target value. Thus, when acurrent noise level is determined to increase, the current value forcompression threshold level 401 also increases. Additionally oralternatively, in some embodiments, in response to determining thetarget value for one or more compression parameters, sound reinforcementsystem 220 changes current value(s) for the one or more compressionparameters to the target value(s).

In step 803, sound reinforcement system 220 generates artificiallyreverberated signal 302 based on source signal 301 and an impulseresponse of listening space 200.

In step 804, sound reinforcement system 220 generates a compressedartificial reverberation signal, i.e., either upwards compressedartificial reverberation signal 304 or parallel-compressed artificialreverberation signal 604, depending on the configuration of soundreinforcement system 220.

In step 805, sound reinforcement system 220 combines the compressedartificial reverberation signal generated in step 804 with source signal301 to form output signal 203 for listening space 200. When outputsignal 203 is played back by loudspeaker 201, an audio signal 211 isproduced that includes audible artificial reverberation based onartificially reverberated signal 302.

In sum, various embodiments set forth systems and techniques forenhancing artificial reverberation in a noisy listening space vianoise-dependent compression. In the embodiments, a compressor modulecompresses an artificial reverberation portion of an output signal, sothat the artificial late reverberations that are designed to improve thelistening experience in the listening space are increased in outputlevel. An upward compression scheme or a parallel compression scheme canbe employed to increase the sound levels associated with the artificiallate reverberations. Further, compression parameters for the compressormodule are modified based on a current noise level that is determined tobe present in the listening space.

At least one technological improvement of the disclosed embodiments isthat a listener in a listening space can have an acoustical experienceof being in an another room. For example, a listener in an acousticallydry listening space can have an acoustical experience akin to sitting ina concert hall or other widened listening space, even in the presence ofsignificant noise that would normally mask artificial reverberation.

1. In some embodiments, a method of signal compression comprisesgenerating an artificial reverberation signal based on a source signaland a response of a listening space, wherein the artificialreverberation signal includes a first low output-level portion havingoutput levels that are below a compression threshold level and a firsthigh output-level portion having output levels that are above thecompression threshold level; generating a compressed artificialreverberation signal by increasing the output levels of the lowoutput-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the outputlevels of the high output-level portion by less than the firstmagnitude; and combining the compressed artificial reverberation signalwith the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.

2. The method of clause 1, further comprising based on a current noiselevel associated with the listening space, determining a target valuefor the compression threshold level; and changing a current value forthe compression threshold level to the target value.

3. The method of clauses 1 or 2, further comprising determining thecurrent noise level based on a signal from a microphone disposed in thelistening space.

4. The method of any of clauses 1-3, further comprising determining thecurrent noise level based on a current speed of a vehicle in which thelistening space is disposed.

5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, further comprising determining thecurrent noise level based on a current state of a device that generatesnoise within the listening space.

6. The method of any of clauses 1-5, wherein the listening space isdisposed within a vehicle.

7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, further comprising: based on acurrent noise level associated with the listening space, determining atarget value for a compression parameter for generating the compressedartificial reverberation signal; and changing a current value for thecompression parameter to the target value.

8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein generating the compressedartificial reverberation signal comprises modifying the artificialreverberation signal with an upward compression scheme.

9. The method of any of clauses 1-8, wherein modifying the artificialreverberation signal with an upward compression scheme comprises:generating the output levels of the second low output-level portionbased on the output levels of the first low output-level portion; andsetting the output levels of the second high-output level portion equalto the output levels of the first high-output level portion.

10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein modifying the artificialreverberation signal with an upward compression scheme comprisesgenerating the output levels of the second low output-level portionbased on increasing the output levels of the first low output-levelportion by a ratio of the upward compression scheme.

11. In some embodiments, a system comprises: a sensor configured togenerate a signal indicating a current noise level in a listening space;a loudspeaker configured to output sound in the listening space based onan output signal; and at least one processor configured to executeinstructions to: generate an artificial reverberation signal based on asource signal and a response of a listening space, wherein theartificial reverberation signal includes a first low output-levelportion having output levels that are below a compression thresholdlevel and a first high output-level portion having output levels thatare above the compression threshold level; generate a compressedartificial reverberation signal based on the artificial reverberationsignal by increasing the output levels of the low output-level portionby a first magnitude and increasing the output levels of the highoutput-level portion by less than the first magnitude; and combine thecompressed artificial reverberation signal with the source signal toform an output signal for the listening space.

12. The system of clause 11, wherein generating the compressedartificial reverberation signal comprises modifying the artificialreverberation signal with a parallel compression scheme.

13. The system of clauses 11 or 12, wherein modifying the artificialreverberation signal with a parallel compression scheme comprises:generating a treated artificial reverberation signal by compressing theartificial reverberation signal with a downward compression scheme; andgenerating a parallel-compressed artificial reverberation signal bysumming the treated artificial reverberation signal with the artificialreverberation signal.

14. The system of any of clauses 11-13, further comprising: based on acurrent noise level associated with the listening space, determining atarget value for the compression threshold level; and changing a currentvalue for the compression threshold level to the target value.

15. The system of any of clauses 11-14, further comprising determiningthe current noise level based on a signal from a microphone disposed inthe listening space.

16. The system of any of clauses 11-15, further comprising determiningthe current noise level based on a current speed of a vehicle in whichthe listening space is disposed.

17. The system of any of clauses 11-16, further comprising determiningthe current noise level based on a current state of a device thatgenerates noise within the listening space.

18. The system of any of clauses 11-17, wherein the listening space isdisposed within a vehicle.

19. In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium includes instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, configure the at least one processor to perform the steps of:generating an artificial reverberation signal based on a source signaland a response of a listening space, wherein the artificialreverberation signal includes a first low output-level portion havingoutput levels that are below a compression threshold level and a firsthigh output-level portion having output levels that are above thecompression threshold level; generating a compressed artificialreverberation signal by increasing the output levels of the lowoutput-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the outputlevels of the high output-level portion by less than the firstmagnitude; and combining the compressed artificial reverberation signalwith the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of clause 19,further including instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, configure the at least one processor to perform the steps of:based on a current noise level associated with the listening space,determining a target value for the compression threshold level; andchanging a current value for the compression threshold level to thetarget value.

Any and all combinations of any of the claim elements recited in any ofthe claims and/or any elements described in this application, in anyfashion, fall within the contemplated scope of the present embodimentsand protection.

The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented forpurposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variationswill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Aspects of the present embodiments may be embodied as a system, methodor computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “module” or“system.” In addition, any hardware and/or software technique, process,function, component, engine, module, or system described in the presentdisclosure may be implemented as a circuit or set of circuits.Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in at least one computer readablemedium having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of at least one computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving at least one wire, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, enable the implementation of the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. Such processors maybe, without limitation, general purpose processors, special-purposeprocessors, application-specific processors, or field-programmableprocessors or gate arrays.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises at least one executable instruction forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While the preceding is directed to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of signal compression, the methodcomprising: generating an artificial reverberation signal based on asource signal and a response of a listening space, wherein theartificial reverberation signal includes a first low output-levelportion having output levels that are below a compression thresholdlevel and a first high output-level portion having output levels thatare above the compression threshold level; generating a compressedartificial reverberation signal by increasing the output levels of thelow output-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the outputlevels of the high output-level portion by less than the firstmagnitude; and combining the compressed artificial reverberation signalwith the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on a current noiselevel associated with the listening space, determining a target valuefor the compression threshold level; and changing a current value forthe compression threshold level to the target value.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising determining the current noise level based ona signal from a microphone disposed in the listening space.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising determining the current noiselevel based on a current speed of a vehicle in which the listening spaceis disposed.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising determiningthe current noise level based on a current state of a device thatgenerates noise within the listening space.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the listening space is disposed within a vehicle.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: based on a current noise levelassociated with the listening space, determining a target value for acompression parameter for generating the compressed artificialreverberation signal; and changing a current value for the compressionparameter to the target value.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating the compressed artificial reverberation signal comprisesmodifying the artificial reverberation signal with an upward compressionscheme.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein modifying the artificialreverberation signal with an upward compression scheme comprises:generating the output levels of the second low output-level portionbased on the output levels of the first low output-level portion; andsetting the output levels of the second high-output level portion equalto the output levels of the first high-output level portion.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein modifying the artificial reverberation signalwith an upward compression scheme comprises generating the output levelsof the second low output-level portion based on increasing the outputlevels of the first low output-level portion by a ratio of the upwardcompression scheme.
 11. A system, comprising: a sensor configured togenerate a signal indicating a current noise level in a listening space;a loudspeaker configured to output sound in the listening space based onan output signal; and at least one processor configured to executeinstructions to: generate an artificial reverberation signal based on asource signal and a response of a listening space, wherein theartificial reverberation signal includes a first low output-levelportion having output levels that are below a compression thresholdlevel and a first high output-level portion having output levels thatare above the compression threshold level; generate a compressedartificial reverberation signal based on the artificial reverberationsignal by increasing the output levels of the low output-level portionby a first magnitude and increasing the output levels of the highoutput-level portion by less than the first magnitude; and combine thecompressed artificial reverberation signal with the source signal toform an output signal for the listening space.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein generating the compressed artificial reverberation signalcomprises modifying the artificial reverberation signal with a parallelcompression scheme.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein modifying theartificial reverberation signal with a parallel compression schemecomprises: generating a treated artificial reverberation signal bycompressing the artificial reverberation signal with a downwardcompression scheme; and generating a parallel-compressed artificialreverberation signal by summing the treated artificial reverberationsignal with the artificial reverberation signal.
 14. The system of claim11, further comprising: based on a current noise level associated withthe listening space, determining a target value for the compressionthreshold level; and changing a current value for the compressionthreshold level to the target value.
 15. The system of claim 14, furthercomprising determining the current noise level based on a signal from amicrophone disposed in the listening space.
 16. The system of claim 14,further comprising determining the current noise level based on acurrent speed of a vehicle in which the listening space is disposed. 17.The system of claim 14, further comprising determining the current noiselevel based on a current state of a device that generates noise withinthe listening space.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the listeningspace is disposed within a vehicle.
 19. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium including instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, configure the at least one processorto perform the steps of: generating an artificial reverberation signalbased on a source signal and a response of a listening space, whereinthe artificial reverberation signal includes a first low output-levelportion having output levels that are below a compression thresholdlevel and a first high output-level portion having output levels thatare above the compression threshold level; generating a compressedartificial reverberation signal by increasing the output levels of thelow output-level portion by a first magnitude and increasing the outputlevels of the high output-level portion by less than the firstmagnitude; and combining the compressed artificial reverberation signalwith the source signal to form an output signal for the listening space.20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19,further including instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, configure the at least one processor to perform the steps of:based on a current noise level associated with the listening space,determining a target value for the compression threshold level; andchanging a current value for the compression threshold level to thetarget value.